Long predicted the Big East affiliation probably wouldn’t make a big difference when competing against teams in the Pac-12, which gets big exposure on the West Coast.

Previously, “we would lose kids to teams just because they were in the BCS, “ Long said. “A kid would say, ‘If I get a chance, I want to play in a BCS league. ‘ And so now all of a sudden with a California kid, other than the Pac-12, that puts us on even footing. It gives us a lot more to fight with… Now they’ve got a chance to be in a BCS league and stay close to home.”